NYT

At a closed-door fund-raiser in St. Louis last Friday night, Mr. Bush was humorous and relaxed, said John C. Danforth, the former senator from Missouri, who was there. The president sounded a note about “tough times,” in reference to the economy, and “seemed relieved” that his presidency was nearly over, Mr. Danforth said.

“It was very unusual, I thought,” Mr. Danforth said. “I think it was a man who was relaxed and funny and looked as though he was about to shed this burden of the presidency. In a way, his speech seemed kind of like a valedictory. I took it as though, ‘I’ve done the best I can, I think I made the right decisions and now it’s almost over.’ ”[...]

“He said that if it was going to happen at all, he was glad it was happening under his presidency, because he had a good group of people in D.C. working for him,” Dru Van Steenberg, one of several small-business owners who met with Mr. Bush in San Antonio earlier this week.[...]

Mr. Bush was plaintive and personal as well. “I wish I could snap my fingers,” he said at one point, “and make what happened stop.”[...]

“He said, ‘I can’t imagine what it would be like to be brand new and have to deal with this,’ ” said Mark Cross, the general manager of an auto dealership, who attended the private session. “I asked him ‘Are you anxious to get back to Texas?’ He said, ‘I am, but I’ve got a lot of work to do.’ ”

Please don’t do us any more favors and whatever you do, don’t go away mad, just go away…!

We can ill afford four more months of your shenanigans…

From Moon of Alabama…

Iran’s ‘Nuclear Detonators’ Are A CIA Fake…
I do smell a rat here – a big one. This is Iraq and ‘Niger papers’ all over.

From CQ…

Pentagon Wants $450 Billion Increase Over Next Five Years

Pentagon officials have prepared a new estimate for defense spending that is $450 billion more over the next five years than previously announced figures.

The new estimate, which the Pentagon plans to release shortly before President Bush leaves office, would serve as a marker for the new president and is meant to place pressure on him to either drastically increase the size of the defense budget or defend any reluctance to do so, according to several former senior budget officials who are close to the discussions.

Experts note that releasing such documents in the twilight of an administration is a well-worn tactic, and that incoming presidents often disregard such guidance in order to pursue their own priorities.

And with the nation’s economy caught up in a global financial meltdown, it remains unclear whether either Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., Sen. Barack Obama , D-Ill., or a Democratic Congress would support such large increases for defense next year.

“This is a political document,” said one former senior budget official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “It sets up the new administration immediately to have to make a decision of how to deal with the perception that they are either cutting defense or adding to it.”

Here’s a well researched compendium of the plethora of assaults on the ‘Rule of Law’ and our fundamental rights as enumerated in the ‘Bill of Rights’…

In other news…

Is the State Dept. a bunch of appeasers now…?

Based upon the cooperation and agreements North Korea has recently provided, and the fact that the DPRK has met the statutory criteria for rescission, the Secretary of State has rescinded the designation of the DPRK as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, effective immediately.

As Think Progress pointed out…

It’s interesting who was absent from the presentation this morning. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was not there. Chris Hill, who negotiated the deal was not there. The President did not make this announcement. It was a quiet announcement called at the State Department today, on a Saturday. So that tells you a lot about how nervous the administration is about this deal.

Fancy that! Poor McInsane must be reeling…!

Is it January yet?